Blog

Search form

What My Russian Grandmother Can Teach You About Performance

My grandmother immigrated to New York in 1917 from a small farming village in the Ukraine. She died a few years ago at the age of 102 and was very healthy and functional until her late 90’s. While age and the eating habits of the modern United States caught up to her in her later years, we always knew that there was something about her upbringing in rural Ukraine that contributed to her health and vitality.

From the stories she told, I knew that her family was not wealthy but they were always well fed. They had enough money and were able to grow enough food to avoid going hungry. Food was a priority in her Jewish heritage. And for those who are familiar with the term “epigenetics,” this meant that her DNA stock was probably very strong,

Through the years, I have attributed her longevity to many of the common-sense health habits we all know are good to practice:

She didn’t smoke, but regularly drank small amounts of red wine after an evening meal. Every morning she drank hot apple cider vinegar and honey. She preferred home-cooked meals to restaurant dining and she didn’t eat to excess. She enjoyed taking long walks and stayed lean most of her adult life. She was faithful about taking nutritional supplements and maintained strong, personal connections to her family and friends.

But I now realize that there were other habits that were a natural necessity among hard-working people living in a harsh environment. These habits played an even greater role in her ability to stay active, strong and healthy well into her 90’s. And these habits can dramatically improve your health and performance, too! ...

Be sure to download our free report, The Secret to Unlocking your Personal Performance Potential, to find out what my Russian grandmother knew about gaining a competitive edge.

And make sure your daily routine includes these simple—yet powerful—strategies I am grateful to have learned from her:

Always get a good night sleep.

She felt it was very important to go to bed early and wake up with the sun. “Without enough sleep,” she would tell me, “you won’t be at your best.” While this is certainly not rocket science, I am always surprised to find out how many athletes don’t prioritize the importance of adequate sleep. Companies such as Fatigue Science now track professional athletes sleep cycles and have proven that even low levels of sleep deprivation reduce both reaction time and overall, physical performance.

Stay active.

My grandmother never exercised formally a day in her life. But living in Brooklyn, she walked every day to go to the market, take my mother to school, and manage daily errands. Even when she was at home, I never remember her sitting down for an extended period of time—except during mealtimes or while watching an occasional TV program. She was always on the go. And as we now know that the negative effects of extended periods of sitting can’t be reversed, even by the best training program. While she could have certainly gained many benefits from a more structured exercise program, she achieved and maintained a very adequate level of functional fitness by simply moving regularly.

Go outside.

As a child, my grandmother would always tell me to go play outside. She told me that the men who worked the fields in the Ukraine would take their shirts off to get sun, even when it wasn’t that warm out. These people instinctively knew that it was possible to work harder, feel better and got sick far less often with sun.

Eat more (healthy) fat.

My grandmother ate a generous amount of fat from animal meats dairy products throughout her life. She also ate lox made from salmon, which provided her with a great source of omega 3 fats. Only later in her life, when her doctors became concerned about her cholesterol, did she reduce her fat intake (to her detriment) and start eating more carbohydrates and grains. While the field laborers she grew up with did eat oat grits, they ate them with lots of butter and sausage for steady, long-lasting energy.

Eat your reds and greens.

In the cold, Russian climate, it wasn’t possible to grow vegetables all year round. But it was possible to grow a lot of beets and dark, leafy greens such as kale. And they would eat a lot of these foods. My grandmother would always tell me that Borscht and kale were great for energy. While they were nutritious and the carbohydrates in beets provided some fuel, what my ancestors didn’t know was that these foods contained performance-enhancing nitrates—nutrients that the body requires to produce nitric oxide, a powerful molecule that scientist call the spark of life. By eating these foods, they were naturally elevating their NO levels and dramatically improving their health and performance.

Chew your food well.

Yes, we have all heard this one. Chewing food is good for digestion. And while that is true, what my grandmother did not know was that the benefits of nitric-oxide-rich foods (such as beets, kale, chard spinach, arugula) begin in the mouth. By chewing your food well, you are increasing the amount of time your healthy, oral bacteria have to create nitric oxide from foods you eat.

Eat fermented foods.

My grandmother intuitively knew that a healthy stomach makes for a healthy person. And while she did not know it, all the sauerkraut, pickles, pickled herring and kefir she ate contributed to her exceptional level of intestinal health. While fermenting foods to extend their storage life was a necessity in the Ukraine, their hidden benefits promoted strong GI health which, in turn, contributed to higher NO production, better digestion and improved immune function.

For 24 hours only, you can get TWO jars of Pure Clean Powder on Amazon.com for the price of ONE.

The flash sale begins on June 1st at 10 AM PST.It endsat midnight PST on June 2nd.

Here's How:

1. Search the key words "organic beet juice powder" on Amazon.com. Important: Because these key words are so new, you may not see Pure Clean Powder until page 2 of your results.

2. Add a quantity of two Pure Clean Powder 30-serving jars to your cart and then enter the promotion code 52DD5M2Zat check out.You will automatically receive a $31.00 discount for an order total $46.95, shipped via Prime...

One of the most important things that sets Core 4 Nutrition apart from other, online nutritional supplement companies is that we're not an impersonal store with dozens of different products sold by hype and high margins. Rather, we focus on providing targeted health and performance solutions, which include personal support from a medically-trained staff; and a "tried and true" arsenal of products, derived primarily from pure, whole-food concentrates.

And unlike almost all the other supplement stores,we sell directly and interact constantly with our clients via e-mail, coaching sessions, pre-release product trials and lab assessments. As a result, we have the ability to upgrade our formulas based on the regular and ongoing feedback we receive.

Why do we do it? Because we care. Our product development is driven by a motivation to provide the very best products and services to our Core 4 family. Because most of our Core 4 Foundation program members stay with us for years, we enjoy being a part of both a dedicated and growing community of clients who often reach out to share their positive short and long-term results.

I am excited to share with you two formula updates for BEET'Umsand FundAminosthat have been proven or people from high-level athletes to people just interested in overall health and fitness to significantly enhance your ability to perform and recover.

BEET’Ums have replaced Charge!

BEET'UMS Are a Game Changer! They provide all the energy-and-endurance-boosting benefits of beets in a delicious, nutritious, chocolate-flavored chew. ...

THEY ARE CONVENIENT. Stick a few in your pocket and take them a hike, on your bike--wherever you like! Enjoy one of these tasty bites of goodness after breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

THEY TASTE GREAT. It’s not often that something this good for you tastes so great. Like Tootsie Rolls? You’ll love BEET'UMS!

THEY'RE MORE EFFECTIVE. BEET'UMS feature a proprietary combination of specially-processed beet juice powder with an organic, superfood base featuring organic, flavonoid-enriched cocoa powder, cocoa butter, and pure, high-polyphenol pomegranate, green tea and more. This unique blend of ingredients makes BEET'UMS work as great as they taste!

And because BEET'UMS are eaten as a chew, the nitric-oxide-enhancing beet juice powder they contain stays in your mouth longer. Since the nitric oxide conversion process begins in the mouth, the longer they stay there, the more nitric oxide your body has the opportunity to create. And more nitric oxide translates into better training, racing, and recovery results.

How to Use: The base dose for BEET’Ums is one chew daily (one bag monthly). Take one twice a day or two 30 minutes prior to more intense physical activity or those wanted a stronger nitric oxide benefit...

If you’re like most health-conscious people, you know that a healthy diet should include plenty of healthy fats. But what exactly are “healthy” fats? How do they from their “unhealthy” counterparts?

One clue will be an overview of how fats behave in temperature. They range from always being a solid at room temperature and stable in heat to only becoming a solid in the freezer and very unstable in heat.

Processed, fabricated fats like;Crisco and saturated margarine remain solid at almost any room temperature and almost never go bad....

In my last post, I explained why taking a random assortment (and amount) of supplements leads to a disappointing lack of results. Did you miss it? Read it here.

Now let's move on to the next, most frequently-asked question.

Question:Why do I need to take supplements if my doctor says that the lab tests he ordered shows that I'm perfectly healthy?

Answer: Almost all laboratory assessments performed by conventionally-trained physicians are implemented for the purpose of diagnosing disease, not increasing health and performance. These tests are designed to identify medical conditions that can be addressed by either a pharmaceutical or surgical intervention.

The at-home laboratory assessments that are an integral part of the Core 4 Nutrition program assess and address the critical, physiological factors linked to optimal health and performance. These assessments provide direct and relevant information that can be applied to making strategic dietary, lifestyle, and supplement choices that can make a measurable and positive difference in how you look, feel and perform...